Top seed Li Na beat Casey Dellacqua in straight sets in the second round of Internazionali BNL d'Italia tournament Tuesday to record the 500th professional match win of her career.
The Chinese player compiled an 84 percent first serve percentage and converted five of seven break points to brush aside the Australian qualifier 6-1, 6-4 in one hour and 17 minutes, Xinhua reported.
Li is the 12th active player to reach 500 career match wins following in the steps of Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Jelena Jankovic, Flavia Pennetta, Tamarine Tanasugarn, Francesca Schiavone, Nadia Petrova, Maria Sharapova, Daniela Hantuchova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Stephanie Foretz Gacon.
No. 5 seed Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic was upset by China's Zhang Shuai 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
No. 7 seed Angelique Kerber also stopped before the third round after losing to Czech qualifier Petra Cetkovska 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Dominika Cibulkova, the ninth seed, crashed out too as she lost to wild-card Camila Giorgi 6-4, 7-6 (7-2).
The other seeds in first round action both won, with No. 10 seed Errani beating South African qualifier Chanelle Scheepers, 7-5, 6-3, and No.13 seed Carla Suarez Navarro beating German qualifier Mona Barthel, 6-2, 6-2. Suarez Navarro's win over Barthel was her WTA-leading 29th match win of the year.
You’ve reached your limit of {{free_limit}} free articles this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
Already subscribed? Log in
Subscribe to read the full story →
Smart Quarterly
₹900
3 Months
₹300/Month
Smart Essential
₹2,700
1 Year
₹225/Month
Super Saver
₹3,900
2 Years
₹162/Month
Renews automatically, cancel anytime
Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans
Exclusive premium stories online
Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors


Complimentary Access to The New York Times
News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic
Business Standard Epaper
Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share


Curated Newsletters
Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox
Market Analysis & Investment Insights
In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor


Archives
Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997
Ad-free Reading
Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements


Seamless Access Across All Devices
Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app
